Here is a question - which currency have the Russians announced is their preference for purchasing energy?

Everybody depending on energy imports to support their current lifestyle is in big trouble - the thing is, that is what, around 80% of humanity?

The question is, what happens after the energy available is reduced?

There, I place my bets on Europe in comparison to the U.S. - Europe will quite likely return to its standard traditions - the harvest is going quite well out my window and throughout this region, the sheep are doing their annual trek, a lot of people made strawberry jam from local strawberries using sugar made from sugar beets grown in the region, and the cherries are looking quite good. This will be followed by apples and grapes.

How does it look from your window?

If you mean Germans will be doing worse because they aren't going to be tearing down the autobahn, I agree. If you mean the trains connecting the cities and towns will stop running, I disagree. And if you mean that countries with with positive trade flows are in a worse position than the world's largest debtor nation, I think you are very mistaken.

No one, absolutely no one, is likely to enjoy the next several decades - but I prefer living in a place with local agriculture and high technology and long term perspectives in planning.

I think the U.S. will have to work very hard to even come close to achieving European 'disadvantages' like inefficient local agriculture, social services and essentially universal health care, essentially zero population growth, and a perspective which covers generations not quarterly reports.

Unlike 40% of Americans, wwho I have read expect to end their lives among the top 1% of the wealthy, Europeans are people who tend to have a realistic view of what life offers. This seems to be the essential handicap you are describing.

As far as Austria is concerned roughly 25% of our primary energy consumption are from renewable sources already. Our rail network is functional and largely electrified, urban sprawl exists but is contained by mother nature ( in valleys you only have two directions to sprawl to begin with) and tight land use regulations. Farm land can only be bought by farmers. At present, farmers get about half their income from public subsidies, but that kept local agriculture intact. Public transport is efficient. Streetcars (tramways) exist in Graz, Linz, Vienna, Innsbruck. My home town of 4000 inhabitants is served by 32 bus connections per day and a railway line. My kids walk to school. A car is taken for granted by most, with car ownership at 500 /1000 inhabitants, but in the end it is  a luxury  not a necessity.
The Austrian energy companies run hydroelectric reservoirs in the mountains, where off peak surplus energy is stored, by pumping water up into these reservoirs. Base load often from nuclear plants is traded against peak load from these reservoirs. Just as Switzerland or Norway we aren´t dependent on coal or natural gas in our electricity generation.

Hello Mh497,

North America should be the world leader in natural sustainability and biosolar Powerup, but sadly we are the worst.  I have posted below my just written reply to Magnus Redin in an old thread for debate by other TODers:

Hello Magnus Redin,

Good for you to live in such a proactive country.  =D  Hopefully other global leaders are watching and learning.

I agree with you that universal Peakoil awareness would be better than denial and ignorance.  Once worldwide awareness of possible Smallpox elimination by 'ring encirclement vaccination' was achieved-- everyone cooperated and mobilized towards this end.  I consider this the greatest example of worldwide cooperation and achievement in our entire history!

Thus, the entire world should be treating Peakoil as just another Smallpox [Small-thoughts] outbreak.  Proper 'ring encirclement vaccination' requires widespread Peakoil Outreach education, and every leader from local to the national level needs to be encouraging everyone to 'vaccinate' themselves with conservation and lower birthrates.

The US, with the highest/capita energy consumption rate; or the worst 'conservation Small-thoughts' infection rates, should be the worldwide leader in Powerdown to help reduce infectious detritus consumption elsewhere [like China's desire for cars].

The gradual proactive encirclement of high consumption areas by 'innoculated' outsiders spreading Peakoil Outreach 'vaccinations' will finally defeat the terribly harmful infection of ignorance and denial.

To achieve this 'ring encirclement' end, I would not be averse to the President, in cooperation with the AZ governor, to temporarily declare AZ martial law and close the statewide borders to any people ingress or outgress with Earthmarine forces, gradually impose $10/gallon equiv gas prices on all energies, 24/7 TV broadcast of Peakoil Outreach info, and mandate a gradual multi-year shrinkage of shared carry-capacity with outside states to proactively drive ELP Powerdown and biosolar Powerup.  This would rapidly reduce infectious ignorance and denial in our Asphalt Wonderland, and instantly jumpstart mutual cooperation to hopefully prevent Nature's Overshoot cull.  

When AZ has reached sustainability; is finally clear of Small-thought infection, then 'ring encirclement vaccination' at the next state.  Lather, rinse, and repeat till the US is energy infection free.  Strength thru Detritus Powerdown and Biosolar Powerup!

Obviously, this is very controversial, but should be considered preferable by all versus having the 'last man standing scenario' and Mother Nature batting last.

Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

If this charicature had any bearing on reality Russia would be demanding $450 per tcm of gas from the EU and not subsidizing it with $230.  But the EU is certainly trying to act as a consumer cartel and force Russia through hysterical propaganda to not dare raise prices to market levels (i.e. $450).  

Too bad for the EU, Russia's days of being desperate for foreign cash are over.  Russia is about to pay off the remaining $22 billion of its Paris Club debt after cutting it by $15 billion last year.  Easing off on fossil fuel exports will help Russia lower inflation.

Current prices for oil and gas are still heavily influenced by the myth that we have decades of easy sailing ahead.  I believe Simmons's prediction of a severe production decline  in the next 15 years.  Realistic prices should be in the hundreds of dollars per barrel of oil and thousands for a thousand cubic meters of gas.  There are no substitutes that will arrive in the next 15 years so it is time to get real.  

to add a little to the  discussion on US  vs. Western Europe maybe  some of you have  the  British  study on health in UK vs. US

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4965034.stm

Apparently health of richest Americans  about as good as that  of poorest Brits. I would suggest this can be extended to most of EU countries and not just UK. they did the study only on white US residents to keep it neutral. I would guess it has  to do with instability and change resulting in heavy  stress in the  individual. we all know that death of spouse, changing jobs or moving cause  stress and stress reduces immune system response which reduces health. USA is flexible that is very true and therefore achieves lots of interesting solutions and fast growth but as people having fewer internal cultural barriers to change(like language, geography and tradition) accept almost any change as normal regardless. These changes however are easily imposed/influenced through commercial interests quickly on a continental scale which is elsewhere impossible except possibly in China(which has a historical tendency to switch from isolation to reform every generation or so). If you believe what was written in the book 1421 about the Chinese discovering the New world and everywhere else 71 years before Columbus then going immediately back into isolation you can see that such a quick flexibility has its disadvantages long term. Europe with its competing centers was able to develop through its competition into the center of world culture  although China had long before made huge  steel ovens, paper, gunpowder and moving print. Competing centers of ideas will remain in Europe despite EU centralist  tendencies. This encourages  development of new ideas, which will then be copied by others after experimentation or even not. Freedom is relative. When you have no freedom to stop a certain trend like chain stores, mass immigration or whatever you might feel like moving abroad. In USA this is hardly possible. In Europe the national units are small enough so that people feel a bit more connection emotionally, historically, culturally and ethnically to the whole and no reason to change just for its own sake(ss in USA) as they have no inner roots in local culture.